Tank for combustible liquids



T. S. McCAHON.

TANK FOR CQMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26. 1920.

1,41 3,043. Patented p 18, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- T. S. McCAHON.

TANK FOR COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26,1920.

1,41 3,043. Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

3 SHEIETSSHEET 2.

(hail I 6 E f 1 5 69 30 3 4 I gmm'nto v abbozmq T. S. McCAHON.

TANK FOR COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION mm um: 26. 1920.

1 ,4 3 Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- gwuanto'c .of this specification.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS S. MGCAHON, OF FORT WQRTH, TEXAS.

TANK ron GOMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS.

Applieation filed June 26,

To all whom it may concern.

. Be it known that I, THoMAsS. MoCAHoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort VVo-rth, in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tanks'for Combustible Liquids; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part ,This invention relates to newand useful improvements lnautomatlc dram apparatus for oil tanks,etc.; and the ob ect 111, vlew 1s to produce a draining system which will Workautomatically in draining crude oil, or any combustible liquids,v from a burning tank, thereby salvaging the oil which otherwise would be a total loss.

More specifically, the present invention consists in the provision of thermostatically operated means for releasing a trap door in the bottom of a tank to permit the oil to make exit to any suitable location, and in the provision of anautomatically releasable fire gate to close the exit after the oil has drained from the tank, and-thereby smother and extinguish the flame.

My invention comprises further various details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this application and in which: Y

Figure ,1 is a view in side elevation of a tank, partly broken away to disclose my improvements applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view in elevation, showing the trap door in an open position;

V Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

1920. Serial No. 392,052.

Figure 3 is a detail View in perspective of a portion of the tank bottom and my improvements applied thereto;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of a thermostatic element;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper portion of the tank, showing also certain parts of my invention;

Figure Sis a detached detail view in per? spective of a trap door-witha bracket, or.

hanger, carried thereby;

Figure? is an enlarged. detached detail.

view in perspective of a trap door frame; Figure 8 is an enlarged detached detail view in perspective, partly in section, of a lever stand;

Figure 9 is an enlarged detached detailv1ew "of a thermostatic element, or collar;

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary de-:

tail view of the trap door frame with trap door hinge hanger fastened to the same; and.

Figure. 11 is a detail View in perspective of a screened-in frame.

Reference now being .the drawings by numerals:

1 designates an oil tank adapted to stor combustible liquids and having in the bot-v tom thereof an opening normally closed by a trapdoor 6, hinged at 4 to the surround ing frame of said opening; and 5 designates a calking interposed between the contact portions of the door andt-he frame, in order to make a liquid-tight joint. Bolted, or

otherwise secured, to said door is a bracket, or hanger, 6. A lever stand 8 1s bolted, or otherwise fastened, to the door frame and has pivot-.

ally mounted in recesses 8 in upwardly ex? tending lugs 8, a pin 9, projecting trans versely through a tiltable lever 10, one end of which is adapted to engage the bracket member, or hanger, 6 in the manner shown in Figures 1, 3 and-8 of the drawings. 7

A gravity lever 11 is pivotally mounted upon a pin 12, journaled in upward project,-

ing lugs 8, 8 of the lever stand 8 and theshort end of said lever engages the adjacent end of the tiltingelever 10, serving to hold had to the details thetank. 35

the same in the retaining position shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

A cable 18 is fastened to the long end of the lever 11 and passes over the pulley 14,

supported on. a bracket 1 near the top of the side Wall of the tank, and about a shaft 15, to which is fixed a ratchet wheel 16, mounted upon'a bracket member 17, secured to the tank. A pivoted pawl 18 engages the ratchet wheel and holds the samefrom rotation in one direction. 7

A thermostatic element 19 (details of which are shown in Figure 4 of the drawings) is made of fusible metal and is adapted to form a fusible link in cable 13. The ends of the cable are threaded through the fusible element 19, and are held in place by the use of a. cable clamp at 22, thus holding the levers 10 and 11 in locked relation with each other and with said trap door. Said thermostatic element, made of a fusible metal, will melt at a comparatively low temperature and has reinforcing wires 21 of the shape shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, imbedded in the metal, for the purpose of causing the element to withstandthe strain due to the trap door. Said wires are-made in two parts'so that, when the fusible metal melts, said reinforcing wires will come apart.

A fire .door 23 is hinged upon a bracket member 24:, which is bolted or otherwise fastened to the gate frame in the bottom of Said fire door, whenclosed, forms a tight joint between the fire door and the projecting edge 2 of the gate frame. A cable 26 isfastened at one end to a metallic support 27 and at its other end is fastened a thermostatic fusible collar 26, shown in detail in Figure 9 of the drawings. Said cable 26 is fastened to a projecting member 28' Y on the innerface of the door frame. Said cable 26 is of such lengthas will normally hold the gate 23 at the inclination shown in Figure 3 of-the drawings, so that, when the collar'26' is fused the door will fall by.

gravity to a closed position.

Leading fromthe opening in the botton of the tank is a drain passageway 30 with a trap 31 therein, and through which the oil makes exit from the tank when the door in the bottom thereof is opened, and which serves as a means for conveying the oil to any place of safety.

The parts, in their normal position, are shown in Figure 1 of the drawings,in which the trap door 6 is closed and sealed, and in the event of the oil in the tank being ignited from any source and commencing to burn, the heat generated in the upper portion of the tank will fuse the metal of the thermostatic element 19, thus permitting the leverlocking member 11 to rock and thereby release the lever 10, whereupon the weight of the oil upon the trap door 6 will cause the same to swing down to an open position, this movement of the door being permitted, as indicated, by the tilting of thelevers 10 and 11 incident to slacking the cable 13.

The oil from the tank is siphoned off from the drain passageway 30 with the fire still terfering with the closing of the 'fire door 23.

What I claim'to be new is:

1. The combination with a tank for combustible liquids having an'opening in'the bottom, ofa door held to normally close said opening, a second door, a rigid member located above said second door, a cable passing from said member along the under side of said second door, and a fusible 'link connecting' said cable to a part adjacentthe.

under side of said door.

2. The combination with a tank for combustibleliquids having an opening in its bottom, of a door normally closing said opening, fusible means for releasing said door, a second door pivoted relative to and adapted to close said opening, a rigid brace supported above said second door,a cable secured to, said rigid brace, a fusible link carried by saidcable, and means within said opening for engaging said fusible link, to maintain said second door in open position.

'8. The combination with a tank for com-- bustible liquids provided with .an opening in its bottom, of a closure for the opening, means permitting said closure to open upon a raise of temperature within said tank, a door pivoted relative to said opening, a brace rigidly secured to the bottom of said tank and extending to a position above said door when in open position, a cable secured to said brace and extending along the under side of said door, and a fusible link carried by said cable connected with a part within the opening maintaining said door in open position.

4. A tank for combustible liquids provided with an opening in the bottom, a closure for the opening, means to release the closure upon the raising of temperature for, cables for supporting said closures in predetermined positions, and a fusible link composed of fusible metal having openings to receive said cable and with wires embedded therein, the extremities of which overlap within the mass of said fusible metal.

6. The combination with a tank for combustible liquids having an' opening in its 10 bottom, of a closure for said opening, a

cable arranged to maintain said closure in predetermined position, and a fusible link for said cable constructed as a loop for receiving said cable and having arched wires embedded in the mass of said fusible material, the ends of which overlap.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

. THOMAS S. MoCAHON. 

